Kate Ng Who I Am, and Why B-school Is For Me (Cornell Johnson)
"I'm still baffled how a club-hopping and winter-fearing person like me talked herself out of her element"
I cannot pinpoint the exact moment that I decided to return to school for an MBA. If anything, school was something my siblings and I shunned throughout our Vietnamese–American childhood. It was as if to defy the very academic standards our Asian cohorts studied all night to set. Regardless, as many first-generation Americans can attest, my parents kindly drilled into our consciences the sacrifices that were made for us kids, particularly for our education. So, in a way, my motivation for an MBA stems from guilt, fear, and other subliminal messages my mother embedded in her dinnertime speeches. In other ways, it is a natural by-product of my personality, professional influences, and life aspirations. Like many MBAs, I have a taste for luxury, a desire for adventure, a fascination for travel, and most importantly, a tolerance for hard work (as a means to acquire all of the above). Rather than a list of traits, I think a "blast from my past" better paints a picture of who I am and how I got here.
Around the time I graduated from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va., my parents wanted to buy a Sunoco gas station/A-Plus convenience store. This transaction required at least one of the proposed owners to achieve a passing score on a Sunoco-administered exam. My mother, an entrepreneurial businesswoman, failed the exam, missing every question that tested any ability to communicate in the English language. Luckily for her, the job I had accepted with Sprint's Associate Engineer Program was not starting for another three months. I wasn't really doing anything, so would I mind taking the exam in her place?
My mother's request (in broken English) was the first I had heard about a gas-station venture, but reflexively, I cooperated, not needing nor inviting elaboration. I was an indifferent bystander, not only absorbed in my own affairs, but also all too familiar with my parents' seemingly erratic business decisions. A gas station was merely the latest in a long line of businesses (7-Eleven, Minuteman Press, Eagle Printing, Colony Liquors) my parents had owned. Ignorance about the gas-station buying process was what allowed my parents to trick me into participating in the next step: gas station school.
Sunoco University, outside Philadelphia, was where I grudgingly relocated for two months to obtain the required Sunoco certification. Only those who passed the Sunoco test were admitted to Sunoco University, where the mission was to train and empower the work force in convenience-store retailing. Craig, our distinguished professor, was responsible for "fueling our success," and "making gas happen." Weekly exams were standard, and success was ensured by faithful recitations of Sunoco acronyms, one being the fundamental GUEST principle (Greet-Understand-Enthusiasm-Smile-Thank You!). Course material included: Principles of a Positive Attitude, Did I Greet My Customer?, and How to Handle Food. In summary, Sunoco University was my personal circle of hell.
After all, I was too cool for mini-mart vocabulary and hot-dog-patterned ties. Like many of my classmates during the Internet boom, I managed to score multiple job offers months before graduation day. I needed management training as much as I needed the Sunoco University Certificate of Achievement, affectionately printed from the inkjet on Craig's desk.
I've emotionally disowned it, but Sunoco University, whether I accept it or not, is a part of my identity. Growing up, my parents didn't have just jobs, but businesses, in which my brothers, my sister, and I became employees. After arriving in the U.S. in 1975, they lived in a refugee camp and were dependent on economic assistance. Determined to create opportunity, Hien and Ha became "Tony" and "Maria" and slowly acquired wealth through small-business and real-estate investments. By the time I reached high school, we resided in what I would call the preppiest neighborhood in Northern Virginia. Instead of Hoang Lan, I went by the cheerleader-friendly "Katie" and our immigrant roots existed only in the memory of my parents. However, with recent MBA ambitions and the pursuit of my own opportunities, I'm afraid my family's values have come back to haunt me. The gas station, Dad's printing business, Mom's liquor store, a complete neglect of child labor laws — they all represent a work ethic I was forced to inherit and a spirit I learned to admire.
Family operations introduced me to small business and entrepreneurship, but it was really my current work environment that drew me to the concept of business school. After a devastating and completely uncalled-for layoff by Sprint, I was hired by a minority- and family-owned company called Unified Industries Incorporated (UII). As a mentor company in the Department of Defense Mentor-Protégé Program, UII hired me to consult with its protégé firms in the development of technology solutions and marketing strategies. Because it was a small, unstructured work environment, I found myself in different functional roles, particularly operations, business development, and information technology. At a higher level, I was also exposed to corporate strategy, implications of management decisions, and organizational behavior — issues in which I had an interest, but no real intellectual contribution. Surrounded at UII by MBAs as my managers and mentors, I saw business school as the next natural step in taking their lead.
After over three years with UII, I decided to go back to school, a transition that took over a year of application preparation and submissions. I started the process by reading books, attending forums, and talking to managers at work. Because business school for me is more about a comprehensive connection of disciplines rather than specialization, l knew I wanted a general management school with a flexible curriculum and a strong international program. To reduce risk and maximize acceptance probability, I targeted schools at which I had already established a personal contact, whether it be an admissions officer, student, or alumnus. For some reason, I was convinced that if I e-mail people enough, they will start to like me. Finally, I thought about where I most liked the environment and where I found students to be most approachable, genuine, and just fun to be around. At the end, I was left with UCLA Anderson, Cornell Johnson, Georgetown McDonough, NYU Stern, and Texas McCombs.
After three abominable months of waiting, four miraculous acceptances, and one decision extension (kindly granted by NYU), I chose Cornell. Cornell is a place where not only the business school, but the entire university, is distinguished for its tight-knit community.
It is in this setting where I best envision myself getting to know my classmates well and having the most enjoyable experience overall. I'm still baffled how a club-hopping and winter-fearing person like me talked herself out of her element. But the more I discover about my new classmates and the cool little town I will call home, the more I am reminded of why I can't wait to start.
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